Stephen Rakowski

Sub-Saharan Africa Analyst

Biography

Stephen Rakowski is a Sub-Saharan Africa Analyst at Stratfor, where he monitors political, security and economic trends unfolding across the continent. Mr. Rakowski holds a master's in government with a focus on diplomacy and conflict studies from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel. He also holds a bachelor's in international relations from Franklin University Switzerland in Lugano, Switzerland. In addition to his studies, Mr. Rakowski has traveled and lived throughout Madagascar, Morocco and Kyrgyzstan.

South Africa’s new leadership wants it both ways, explains Stratfor Sub-Saharan Africa Analyst Stephen Rakowski. First, it wants to improve investor confidence to help grow the economy. At the same time it wants to shore up support through populist measures like land expropriation ahead of the 2019 election. Striking a balance will prove key to the success of the new president.

Any place elite barons of authority convene can, at least temporarily, join the ranks of the world's important spaces. In countries where power is contested, a hotel's neutral space might be the only option for political or military rivals to engage in talks or to trade information, though this can also attract intelligence agency surveillance.

For countries without colonial interests in Africa, the wave of independence movements offered an opportunity to make inroads in nations outside their traditional spheres of influence. Providing physical security for a leader and his or her family is a particularly useful tool for a country that wants to assert its influence without committing extensive resources.